牛津書蟲系列 秘密花園 3 Finding the secret garden

3 Finding the secret garden

3 找到秘密花園

When Mary woke up two days later，the wind and rain had all disappeared，and the sky was a beautiful blue.

兩天后，當瑪麗早上醒來時，風住了，雨也停了，天空是一片美麗的藍色。

‘Spring'll be here soon，’said Martha happily.‘You'll love the moor then，when it's full of flowers and birds.’

“春天就要來了!”瑪莎快活地說道，“那時到處是花兒和小鳥，你會喜歡荒原的。”

‘Could I get to the moor?’asked Mary.

“我能去荒原嗎?”瑪麗問。

‘You've never done much walking，have you?I don't think you could walk the five miles to our cottage!’

“你沒有走過那么遠的路吧，對不對?我看你走不了5里路到我們住的小屋去!”

‘But I'd like to meet your family，’Mary said.

“可是我想見一見你的家人。”瑪麗說。

Martha looked at the little girl for a moment.She remembered how disagreeable Mary had been when she first arrived. But now，Mary looked interested and friendly.

瑪莎對著這個小女孩注視了片刻，她想起瑪麗剛來這兒時是多么的不討人喜歡，可是現(xiàn)在，她看上去興致勃勃的，也很友好。

‘I'll ask Mother，’said Martha.‘She can always think of a good plan.She's sensible and hardworking and kind— I know you'll like her.’

“我得問問媽媽，”瑪莎說，“她總能想出好辦法的。她聰明、能干，還很善良，我想你會喜歡她的。”

‘I like Dickon，although I've never seen him.’

“我喜歡狄肯，雖然我沒見過他。”

‘I wonder what Dickon will think of you?’

“我不知道狄肯會不會喜歡你。”

‘He won't like me，’said Mary.‘No one does.’

“他不會喜歡我的，”瑪麗說，“沒人喜歡我。”

‘But do you like yourself?That's what Mother would ask.’

“但是你喜歡自己嗎?媽媽會這么問的。”

‘No，not really.I've never thought of that.’

“不，不知道，我從來沒想過。”

‘Well，I must go now.It's my day off，so I'm going home to help Mother with the housework.Goodbye，miss.See you tomorrow.’

“哦，我得走了，今天是我休息的日子，我得回家?guī)蛬寢屪黾覄?，再見，小姐，明天見?rdquo;

Mary felt lonelier than ever when Martha had gone，so she went outside.The sunshine made the gardens look different.And the change in the weather had even made Ben Weatherstaff easier to talk to.

瑪莎走后，瑪麗覺得更孤單了，于是她走到外面。陽光使花園看上去與往日不同，而且天氣的變化似乎讓本·威瑟斯塔夫也變得喜歡說話了。

‘Can you smell spring in the air?’he asked her.‘Things are growing，deep down in the ground.Soon you'll see little green shoots coming up—young plants，they are.You watch them.’

“你能聞到春天的氣息嗎?”他問瑪麗，“在深深的泥土下面，萬物在生長。很快你就會看見綠色的嫩芽長出來——那些幼苗，你會看見它們的。”

‘I will'replied Mary.‘Oh，there's the robin!’The little bird hopped on to Ben's spade.‘Are things growing in the garden where he lives?’

“我會的，”瑪麗答道。“噢!知更鳥!”小鳥在本的鏟子上蹦跳著。“它住的園子里生物也在生長么?”

‘What garden?’said Ben，in his badtempered voice.

“什么園子?”本問道，語氣中有些暴躁。

‘You know，the secret garden.Are the flowers dead there?’ She really wanted to know the answer.

“你知道的，那個秘密花園。那兒的花兒死了嗎?”她是真的想知道答案。

‘Ask the robin，’said Ben crossly.‘He's the only one who's been in there for the last ten years.’

“問知更鳥吧，”本不耐煩地說，“它是唯一在這10年里去過那兒的。”

Ten years was a long time，Mary thought.She had been born ten years ago.She walked away，thinking.She had begun to like the gardens，and the robin，and Martha and Dickon and their mother.Before she came to Yorkshire，she had not liked anybody.

10年是段很長的時間，瑪麗想。她是10年前出生的。她走開了，想著心事。她已經(jīng)開始喜歡上園子、知更鳥、瑪莎、狄肯、還有他們的母親。在她來約克郡之前，她從來也沒喜歡過誰。

She was walking beside the long wall of the secret garden， when a most wonderful thing happened.She suddenly realized the robin was following her.She felt very pleased and excited by this，and cried out，‘You like me，don't you?And I like you too!’As he hopped along beside her，she hopped and sang too，to show him that she was his friend.Just then he stopped at a place where a dog had dug a hole in the ground.As Mary looked at the hole，she noticed something almost buried there. She put her hand in and pulled it out.It was an old key.

她正在秘密花園長長的圍墻外走著，一件驚人的事情發(fā)生了。她突然發(fā)現(xiàn)知更鳥在跟著她，她感到非常高興，非常激動，她叫道。“你喜歡我，對么?我也喜歡你!”知更鳥一蹦一跳地在她左右，她也一樣跳著唱著，告訴知更鳥她是他的朋友。這時知更鳥在一個地方停下來，那兒的地上有一個狗挖出來的洞?，旣愅蠢锟磿r，發(fā)現(xiàn)有個東西埋在里面，她伸手進去揀出來，是一把舊鑰匙。

‘Perhaps it's been buried for ten years，’she whispered to herself.‘Perhaps it's the key to the secret garden!’

“說不定它已經(jīng)被埋了10年了，”她低聲對自己說。“說不定這就是秘密花園的鑰匙!”

She looked at it for a long time.How lovely it would be to find the garden，and see what had happened to it in the last ten years!She could play in it all by herself，and nobody would know she was there.She put the key safely in her pocket.

她拿著鑰匙看了很久。要是能找到秘密花園，就能看看10年間都發(fā)生了些什么變化!她就能一個人在里面玩兒，誰也不知道她在哪兒啦。她把鑰匙小心地放進口袋里。

The next morning Martha was back at Misselthwaite Manor，and told Mary all about her day with her family.

第二天早晨，瑪莎回到莊園，她給瑪麗講述了她一天的情況和她家人的事。

‘I really enjoyed myself.I helped Mother with the whole week's washing and baking.And I told the children about you. They wanted to know about your servants，and the ship that brought you to England，and everything!’

“我真高興，我?guī)蛬寢尠岩粋€星期要洗的東西都洗了，還烤了一個星期要吃的面包。我對孩子們講起你，他們都想知道你在印度的仆人們，帶你來英國的大船，一切的事情!”

‘I can tell you some more for next time，’offered Mary. ‘They'd like to hear about riding on elephants and camels， wouldn't they?’

“下次我會多講些給你聽，”瑪麗說，“他們會喜歡聽騎大象和騎駱駝的事，對么?”

‘Oh，that would be kind of you，miss!And look，Mother has sent you a present!’

“噢，小姐，你真是太好了!對了，看，媽媽送給你的禮物!”

‘A present!’repeated Mary.How could a family of fourteen hungry people give anyone a present!

“禮物!”瑪麗重復道。一個有著14個挨餓的人的家庭怎么能給人送禮物!

‘Mother bought it from a man who came to the door to sell things.She told me，“Martha，you've brought me your pay，like a good girl，and we need it all，but I'm going to buy something for that lonely child at the Manor，”and she bought one，and here it is!’

“媽媽從上門賣貨的人那兒買的。她告訴我說，‘瑪莎，你是個好孩子，把工錢都給了我，我們需要用錢，不過我要給莊園里那個孤單的孩子買點東西。’于是她就買了一個，瞧，就在這兒!”

It was a skippingrope.Mary stared at it.

那是一根跳繩。瑪麗瞪大眼睛望著它。

‘What is it?’she asked.

“這是什么?”她問。

‘Don't they have skippingropes in India?Well，this is how you use it.Just watch me.’

“在印度沒有人跳繩嗎?好吧，你得這么用，看著我。”

Martha took the rope and ran into the middle of the room. She counted up to a hundred as she skipped.

瑪莎拿著繩子跑到房間中央，跳了有100下。

‘That looks lovely，’said Mary .‘Your mother is very kind.Do you think I could ever skip like that?’

“真好看。”瑪麗說道。“你媽媽真好，你覺得我能跳得那么好嗎?”

‘Just try，’said Martha.‘Mother says it'll make you strong and healthy.Skip outside in the fresh air.’

“試試看，”瑪莎說。“媽媽說它會讓你健康又強壯。要在外面新鮮空氣中跳。”

Mary put her coat on and took the skipping-rope.As she was opening the door，she thought of something and turned round.

瑪麗穿上大衣，拿起跳繩，要去開門的時候她好像想起了什么，又轉回來。

‘Martha，it was your money really.Thank you.’She never thanked people usually and she did not know how to do it.So she held out her hand，because she knew that adults did that.

“瑪莎，這其實是花你的錢，謝謝你。”她平常從來不去感謝別人，也不知道該怎么做。于是她伸出手，因為她知道大人們都那么做。

Martha shook her hand and laughed.‘You're a strange child，’she said.‘Like an old woman!Now run away and play!’

瑪莎握住她的手笑起來，說，“你可真是個怪孩子，像個老太婆!現(xiàn)在就到外面玩去吧!”

The skippingrope was wonderful.Mary counted and skipped，skipped and counted，until her face was hot and red. She was having more fun than she had ever had before.She skipped through the gardens until she found Ben Weatherstaff， who was digging and talking to his robin.She wanted them both to see her skip.

跳繩真棒，瑪麗跳著數(shù)著，數(shù)著跳著，跳得臉蛋兒又紅又熱，她從來沒有這么快活過。她跳過花園，找到本·威瑟斯塔夫，老人正在挖土，一邊跟知更鳥說著話。她想讓他們倆都看她跳繩。

‘Well!’said Ben.‘You're looking fine and healthy today! Go on skipping.It's good for you.’

“哈!你今天看上去不錯，很健康，接著跳吧，這對你有好處。”他說。

Mary skipped all the way to the secret garden wall.And there was the robin!He had followed her!Mary was very pleased.

瑪麗一路跳著來到秘密花園的墻外，知更鳥也在那兒!它是跟著她來的，瑪麗高興極了。

‘You showed me where the key was yesterday，’she laughed.‘I've got it in my pocket.So you ought to show me the door today!’

“你昨天告訴了我鑰匙在哪兒，”她笑著說道，“我把它放在兜里了，今天你該告訴我門在哪兒啦!”

The robin hopped on to an old climbing plant on the wall，and sang his most beautiful song.Suddenly the wind made the plant move，and Mary saw something under the dark green leaves.The thick，heavy plant was covering a door.Mary's heart was beating fast and her hands were shaking as she pushed the leaves away and found the keyhole.She took the key out of her pocket，and it fitted the hole.Using both hands， she managed to unlock the door.Then she turned round to see if anyone was watching.But there was no one，so she pushed the door，which opened，slowly，for the first time in ten years. She walked quickly in and shut the door behind her.At last she was inside the secret garden!

知更鳥跳到墻上的一根老藤上，唱起他最動聽的歌。突然，風吹動了藤蔓，瑪麗看見了那暗綠色葉子下面的東西。那沉重粗壯的植物遮掩著一扇門?，旣惖男奶涌炝耍斔崎_藤蔓，發(fā)現(xiàn)鑰匙孔時，手都在顫抖。她從兜里掏出鑰匙，插進孔中，雙手一起使勁打開了那道鎖，然后她轉過身看看有沒有人看見，但是一個人也沒有，于是她推動了那扇門。門緩緩地開了，這是10年來第一次。她很快走進花園，隨手關上了門。她終于進了這座秘密花園!

It was the loveliest，most exciting place she had ever seen. There were old rose trees everywhere，and the walls were covered with climbing roses.She looked carefully at the grey branches.Were the roses still alive?Ben would know.She hoped they weren't all dead.But she was inside the wonderful garden，in a world of her own.It seemed very strange and silent，but she did not feel lonely at all.Then she noticed some small green shoots coming up through the grass.So something was growing in the garden after all!When she found a lot more shoots in different places，she decided they needed more air and light，so she began to pull out the thick grass around them.She worked away，clearing the ground，for two or three hours，and had to take her coat off because she got so hot.The robin hopped around，pleased to see someone gardening.

這是她所見過的最美麗、最令人心動的地方。眼前全是生長多年的玫瑰，墻也被蔓生的玫瑰蓋住了。她細細地端詳那灰色的枝條，那些玫瑰還活著嗎?本一定知道。她希望它們都沒死。可她是在這座奇妙的花園的里面，在一個屬于她的世界里。這里陌生寂靜，可她一點也不覺得孤單。這時，她一眼注意到一些從草地上冒出來的小小的綠芽，花園總算有東西在生長!當她在其他地方又看到更多的嫩芽時，她想它們一定需要更多的空氣和陽光，于是開始拔掉它們周圍濃密的雜草。她埋頭干著，清理著地面，一直忙活了兩三個小時，而且已經(jīng)脫掉了大衣，因為她實在是太熱了。知更鳥在四周跳著，看到有人整理這個花園它很高興。

She almost forgot about lunch，and when she arrived back in her room，she was very hungry and ate twice as much as usual.‘Martha，’she said as she was eating，‘I've been thinking.This is a big，lonely house，and there isn't much for me to do.Do you think，if I buy a little spade，I can make my own garden?’

她幾乎忘了去吃午飯，當她回到房間時覺得餓極了，吃掉了平常兩頓飯的東西。“瑪莎，”她一邊吃一邊說道，“我一直在想，這么一座孤零零的大房子里，我實在沒什么可干。你覺得，如果我買把小鏟子，造一座自己的花園怎么樣?”

‘That's just what Mother said，’replied Martha.‘You'd enjoy digging and watching plants growing.Dickon can get you a spade，and some seeds to plant，if you like.’

“媽媽就是這么說的，”瑪莎回答。“你會喜歡挖土，然后看著植物長起來的。要是你愿意，狄肯能給你弄一把鏟子，還能給你些花籽。”

‘Oh，thank you，Martha! I've got some money that Mrs Medlock gave me.Will you write and ask Dickon to buy them for me?’

“哦，太感謝你啦，瑪莎!梅洛太太給了我些錢，你能給狄肯寫封信，讓他給我買嗎?”

‘I will.And he'll bring them to you himself.’

“我會寫的，他會自己給你送來。”

‘Oh!Then I'll see him.’Mary looked very excited.Then she remembered something.‘I heard that cry in the house again，Martha.It wasn't the wind this time.I've heard it three times now.Who is it?’

“哦!那我就能見到他了，”瑪麗顯得很興奮。接著她又想起了什么，“我又聽見房子里的哭聲了，瑪莎，這次不是風，我都聽到過3次了，那是誰呀?”

Martha looked uncomfortable.‘You mustn't go wandering around the house，you know.Mr Craven wouldn't like it.Now I must go and help the others downstairs.I'll see you at teatime.’

瑪莎看上去有些為難，“你看，你不能在房子里亂走，克萊文先生不喜歡這樣。我這會兒得下樓去給別人幫忙了，喝茶的時候見。”

As the door closed behind Martha，Mary thought to herself， ‘This really is the strangest house that anyone ever lived in.’

瑪莎關上門出去了，瑪麗獨自想著，“這可是人們住過的最奇怪的房子。”